Resources

All community organizations depend on partnerships of all types-those with key individuals, as well as institutions of education and government. Perhaps most essential for community sustainability, however, are linkages among community organizations themselves, including non-profit and for-profit ventures.

The September 2008 Seminar Retreat depended on two local community organizations, Artists for Humanity of Boston, MA and Riverzedge of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Participants in the September 2008 Retreat visited both of these sites. An additional community partner, though from a distance, is the Merasi School, located in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. Caitie Whelan, a senior member of the International Youth Research Network at Brown University ('07.5), helped found this organization and is working toward its sustainability. Her ideas and the many lessons learned from her work inform the content of this website as well as the activities of the Seminar Retreat.

Beyond these resources, the seminar retreat interests and many of the participants tie closely to the goals of the Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University.

Artists for Humanity [AFH], Boston, Massachusetts
At the heart of Artists for Humanity is the belief that acquiring a strong skill set is equivalent to attaining power and opportunity. Started over a decade ago by six 14-year-olds working with a mentoring artist, AFH has three goals of providing what underserved youth most frequently report that they need:

-A safe meaningful place where they are respected for their contributions.
-An opportunity to have a voice through exhibitions, commercial services, and public presentations.
-The respect and responsibility of paid employment that has high expectations, promotes their economic development, and assists them in achieving their full potential.

AFH's central program, the youth-run Arts Micro-Enterprise, is an apprenticeship/leadership program that employs inner-city teens and partners them in small groups with professional artists/designers and young artist mentors to design, create, and sell art products. With fully equipped, staffed studios in seven artistic media (painting, sculpture, photography, murals, web design, silk-screen and graphic design), youth and mentors collaborate on creative projects, many specifically commissioned by clients. In the process, young artists develop entrepreneurial skills through their work in outreach and marketing of projects. Studios meet during the young people's out-of-school time.

In 2004, AFH moved to the energy autonomous EpiCenter, a 23,500 sq.ft. solar/green building to house its expanding programming and gallery. The EpiCenter builds on AFH's emphasis with social entrepreneurs fostering progressive action to attain sustainability of youth, their communities, and the environments they wish for their futures.

Riverzedge, Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Riverzedge began five years ago as a replication site inspired by Artists for Humanity. As with all community organizational replications, Riverzedge evolved to meet the needs of local young people in its local region. As a youth development program, Riverzedge offers educationally and economically disenfranchised youth in northern Rhode Island paid employment in the arts and a voice in the community. Woonsocket, one of Rhode Island's poorest communities, offers Riverzedge youth the chance to engage in a lifestyle of disciplined effort, creative expression, and economic self-reliance. Participants are encouraged to find their artistic niche within five creative studios: graphic design, silk screen, painting, photography, and woodshop. Each studio works independently in general, but the young artists often collaborate on projects. They sell their own products as well as provide a range of art and design services to organizations, corporations, and businesses. These products include business cards, website designs, t-shirts, holiday cards, murals, storefront signs, portraits, and furniture. The organization's staff consists of educators and artists who specialize in the art forms of the studios. To learn more about this replication start-up now working to ensure its sustainability past the critical first five years, please visit their website at riverzedgearts.org.

Merasi School, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
The Merasi School, a community-based educational project, springs form the meaning of Merasi -- musician or keeper of the stories. The Merasi are considered Untouchable, the lowest social strata within India's hierarchical caste system. They are born without birth certificates, denied access to education, political representation, and adequate health care. With modernization blazing across India, traditional music, the Merasi's one recognized form of social worth, is on the brink of extinction. In response to crippling marginalization, the Merasi articulated the desire for an education that created access to opportunity and preserved their 37-generation old musical legacy. The Merasi School is their vision in action.

The school curriculum uses the Merasi's rich artistic heritage as the framework for a life skills-based curriculum. Caitie Whelan, initially working in their region with a U.S.-based non-profit, joined efforts with local leaders to create The Merasi School Book, a textbook that takes the standards of the Indian Governmental Schools and translates them into imagery and literature directly connected to the immediate world of the Merasi students. The Merasi School uses the 'training the trainers' model. All classes are taught by community members who actively search out the next generation of teachers to mentor and train. The Merasi School aspires to be an expansive learning center in which a rich diversity of community members can collaborate to create walkable avenues to constructive opportunity.